Banco de Textos

While I was out and about in the blogosphere today, I came across a very interesting post on the Educación tecnológica blog about a text bank in Spanish.  With the unassuming name "Banco de Textos" it looks like a good source of authentic pulic domain texts for educators to use in their classes.

To make things better, the texts are classified by their writing style (narrativo, expositivo, descriptivo, etc.) to make relevant material easy to find.  And, the best part is that there are audio texts too.  Perfect for listening activities!  There are texts for children and for mature readers, and there is a search feature too so that you can find something appropriate for your class quickly.

I have bookmarked Banco de Textos and I hope to find excellent resources there for use in my Spanish IV and my AP Spanish classes.

Hasta pronto,

--AnneK

 

Libritos

My Spanish II students were given the task of creating a little booklet written in the preterite tense about a trip to a city.  I told them the trip could be a real trip they took or one they dreamed up on their own, and I was really thrilled with the results I got.  I think that leaving them open to interpretation allowed the creative students to do their thing but, at the same time, gave enough structure to those students who needed it.

 

I insisted that they make their books from scratch and I showed them a video online demonstrating how to make a simple journal to give them some guidance, but again I left a lot of the creative process in their hands.  "As long as it isn't a couple sheets of paper folded over or stapled together," I told them.   In this day of going to the craft store and finding everything there already made for you, I wanted them to get hands into this and go through the creative process themselves.  

In my classroom I keep a lot (and I mean a LOT) of craft supplies that I make available to the students.  We are also blessed at my school to have about half an hour each day, on average, for students to go to work with the teachers they need to see and help.  I had a lot of students stop by to have me read their drafts, to use craft supplies, and to solicit advice.  Hooray for them!

Part of the success in the project lies in writing a good rubric, which I believe I did this time.  I'm getting better all the time!  But that is a blog post for another day.

UPDATE 4/7/2015: Because of the requests I have received for the rubric and the project guidelines, I have posted them.  They can be found in this post: Rarito . . . y un proyecto para Español II .

Hasta pronto,

--AnneK

El Día de Acción de Gracias

As a vegetarian and a dedicated non-sports person, I don't find much excitement in Thanksgiving.  My usual television is supplanted by football games and I have the unenviable task of creating a mega meal that will satisfy both the vegetarians and meat-eaters in our family.  

However, the idea behind Thanksgiving is taking time to reflect on the year and all the blessings that have been bestowed upon us, and that is something I can absolutely get behind - with a glad heart.  I honestly believe that living in gratitude is the key to long term happiness in life.  I do.

So as a teacher I think it behooves us to take a moment or two in class and talk about things we are grateful for - instead of just focusing on turkey and football.  In a pulic school you will want to make sure to keep religious overtones out of the discussion to every extent possible, of course.  Personally I believe that gratitude and giving thanks are universal human emotions that do not need to be linked to any particular religion.

Yes, the kids might not really get the idea.  They might tell you they are grateful for Xbox, getting to sleep late on Thursday, and not having any homework.  That's okay.  Baby steps, amigos, baby steps.

The graphics here are for you to use if you wish.  I made them from clip art I found on the web and modified for use in my classroom.  I hope you find a use for them and I hope your holiday is blessed.

Hasta pronto,

--AnneK

Canción Para Enseñar Los Mandatos Informales

In Spanish III I'm teaching informal affirmative and negative commands right now.  Technically it is a review but, since the affirmatives and the negatives are very different, the commands are always problematic.  And once you add in the object pronouns, forget about it!  

After class a student of mine who went to a different school last year approached me and taught me a song that she had learned in Spanish II to help her remember the commands.  She forbade me to mention her name in association with the song or to teach it this year, sadly.  Kids at her age are easily embarrassed by these things so I will respect her wishes.  Still, I see no harm in sharing the song here anonymously.

Sing it to the tune of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious:    

Ten, No tengas

Sé, No seas

Pon, No pongas, Poner

Ve, No vayas

Ven, No vengas

Haz, No hagas, Hacer

Dígame, No me digas

Sal, No salgas, Salir

Los mandatos

Los mandatos

Ya sabes hacerlos 

I'm so silly that I can't stop singing it to myself now.  

Hast pronto,

--AnneK

Diagramas Venn en Platitos de Papel

Yesterday I mentioned that we created Venn diagrams to compare and contrast our personalities with those predictions made by the zodiac.  The kids really enjoyed the activity and seeing how their personalities were similar or different from the descriptions online.  They were looking up their friends, boyfriends, and family members too.

In order to make the Venn diagrams, I gave them paper plates.  For some reason, the simple act of creating a diagram on a paper plate (as opposed to one on a worksheet) suddenly made the activity more interesting and appealing to them.  It was an idea I found over on Pinterest and I couldn't wait to try it out.  Using colored construction paper might work well too!

I think they turned out very well too.  Hooray for the creative teachers out there who share their ideas!  I am grateful for them.

Hasta pronto, --AnneK